By Cheryl Splain, KnoxPages.com Reporter
CENTERBURG — It may have been a long time coming, but the next extension of the Heart of Ohio Bike Trail will soon be a reality. U.S. 36/Ohio 3 will close tomorrow (Sept. 15) so that the Columbus-based Righter Co. can install a pedestrian bridge over the roadway.
The bridge will cross routes 3/36 southwest of Centerburg at Lytle Road and will extend the HOOT another two miles, from North Clayton Street in Centerburg to Huffman Road. Lori Totman, director of the Knox County Park District, anticipates the new trail to be paved the end of September or first week in October, weather permitting.
Initially scheduled to be done in 2015, the $1.066 million project is partially funded through a $975,782 Ohio Department of Transportation grant. The park district put up a local match close to $290,000. Kim Marshall, former park district director, submitted the transportation grant in 2013.
“When the grant was originally submitted, it was an at-grade crossing across routes 3/36,” said Totman. “The design company came to me and said if we can do this within budget, a pedestrian bridge over 3/36, are you interested? And I said, ‘most definitely.’” They tweaked all of the figures and then we had to petition ODOT and they had to put their final approval on it. By doing this, it pushed the project out another year.”
Anderson Bridges, Waterford, Mich., will manufacture the three-piece, 182-foot-long bridge. Totman said that due to safety issues, the contractor is concerned about onlookers being in the area while the bridge is being installed.
Workers get things ready for the installation of a pedestrian bridge over Ohio 3/U.S. 36 at Lytle Road. The road will be closed tomorrow during the installation, which is part of extending the Heart of Ohio Trail from North Clayton Street in Centerburg to Huffman Road. KP photo by Cheryl Splain
Completion of this section is one more step in connecting into a statewide network of trails, including the Ohio-to-Erie Trail linking Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland.
“We are inching our way toward the Licking County/Delaware County line,” said Totman. “The last section of multi-use trail in Knox County will be from Huffman Road to the Licking County line. There’s a very short span in Licking County, and then it links up with Delaware County on North County Line Road. Delaware County received a Clean Ohio Trail grant, and they paved from North County Line Road to Meredith State Road.”
The span between North County Line and Meredith State roads has no parking access; the trail dead ends into both roads.
“The hope is they are going to take that into Condit, connect there and on into Sunbury and Westerville, and that springboards you into a whole new trail system,” said Totman. “We are getting very close.”
